Jordan doesn’t follow the rules


Published on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 3:32 AM AKST

I’m glad Matanuska Electric Association board president Lee Jordan is concerned about following the MEA bylaws. Unfortunately, he mostly seems interested in following them when they’re useful and ignores them when they’re not.

According to the bylaws, the board has to appoint two to three people to the bylaws committee each year as the staggered three-year terms of its appointed members expire. But that isn’t happening and hasn’t for several years. Instead, the people whose terms expired back in 2004 and 2005 just stay right where they are. As board president, Lee Jordan is responsible for bylaws committee appointments.

According to the bylaws, candidates have until June 30 to “disburse all assets of the candidate’s campaign account.” That means you don’t get to carry a campaign account balance from campaign to campaign. Check his campaign financial statements on MEA’s Web site — Jordan did it anyway.

According to Alaska State Statute 10.25.010, electric co-ops “may not use cooperative funds to promote or oppose the candidacy of a candidate for director of the cooperative.” Last fall, MEA spent $186,000 on commercials featuring Lee Jordan. In November 2007, Jordan argued that it wasn’t a conflict because he wasn’t even sure he was running for re-election. Yet, the campaign disclosure reports show he started spending money on and receiving donations to his re-election campaign in September.

So, we’ve got a board president breaking MEA bylaws and possibly also Alaska state law because it suits him. Shame on you, Mr. Jordan. You do not deserve re-election to our board.

Dan Tucker,

Wasilla

Editor’s note: According to the Dec. 31, 2007, year-end Campaign Contributions Pre-Election Report required of candidates, Lee Jordan includes a contribution of $108.69 attributed to “carryover from previous period.” Supporting documentation filed with the report shows this transfer of funds, dated July 7, 2007, as a Jordan For MEA account carryover and identifies Jordan as “candidate.”

Copyright © 2009 Frontiersman

Comments

5 comment(s)

    Concerned resident wrote on Feb 7, 2008 4:31 AM:

    " Dan Tucker is an honest man, and he's right. Lee Jordan is indeed working for MEA management, and not the member-owners.

    MEA management is working for their own interests, and not the member-owners or the best interests of the Valley. They've been treating MEA members like chumps for too long. Sorry Jordan, its time for you to go!

    Vote for Burchell and Kinkaid. They will stand for independence, character, and cooperation. They will stand for the MEA member-owners best interests.
    "

    too bad wrote on Feb 6, 2008 1:02 PM:

    " Lee Jordan probably feels entitled to those free commercials just before the elections. You can't legislate ethics I guess, all we can do is eliminate the candidate from the board. So typical of these "good ole boys" that run the show there. "

    To "But Brutus ..." wrote on Feb 6, 2008 10:09 AM:

    " No list of Jordan transgressions would be complete without mention of the way he presided over a board resolution about releasing the IRP, then promptly reneged on the resolution when it came time to release it. This guy is not working for ratepayers. He's working for management. Thanks for your "service", Lee. Now it's time to go. "

    But Brutus is an Honorable Man wrote on Feb 5, 2008 12:30 PM:

    " So Jordan, who is of course an honorable man, lied to the members and lied to the press when asked point blank if those commercials last year might be a conflict with state campaign finance laws. And he broke MEA bylaws by carrying over funds from a previous campaign. Oh, and he's failing to do a pretty significant part of his job as President of the Board, namely, appoint committee members (it doesn't look like he appointed bylaw committee members even once since becoming president). Think he'll admit any of it? As I say, Lee is an honorable man. Right? "

    Par for the course wrote on Feb 5, 2008 8:54 AM:

    " Anyone who has paid any attention to MEA in recent years knows what BS this is. Jordan is wrong to have accepted that free advertising, and MEA was wrong to spend OUR money on it. It all stinks, but a vote for Burchell and Kincaid, along with a yes vote on the bylaw change, will change years of BS for the better. Time to restore trust, openness and transparency to the board and the way MEA conducts business. "

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